"We're being accompanied by a fighter escort to ensure safe passage," a human male rebel transport captain with fair skin, blue eyes and brown hair, wearing a gray colored captain's uniform that had a brown colored neck pauldron and a white and black colored cap over his head told a hologram of a human female with tan skin, brown hair and eyes, wearing light green colored shirt, pants with brown colored boots that was being projected from a holoprojector on the bridge of a GR-75 medium transport with a rebel trooper working at a console in the bridge next to him as the transport along with six A-wings jumped out of Hyperspace near the planet of Teralov, "Don't worry. You'll get your food supply."

"We're grateful, very grateful," the woman replied, "I had no idea the rebels were so well equipped."

"Truthfully, they're not," the ship's captain admitted, "We're fortunate to get some of the few pilots they actually have."

"Sir! There's an Imperial warship coming out of Hyperspace, dead ahead," the rebel trooper reported as he heard an alarm beeping from one of the consoles within the ship's bridge.

Just as the rebel officer said that, an Imperial Light Cruiser suddenly jumped out of Hyperspace with it deploying three TIE Interceptors from its docking port, TIE fighters with dagger-shaped solar panels rather than the ones that TIE fighters do as they rolled around before they flew towards the rebels.

"They brought fighters," the leader of the A-wings, who was codenamed 'Green Leader' stated as he stared at the TIE Interceptors, "Green Three, Green Four, stay with the transport. All others, follow me."

The three TIE Interceptors then began to fire upon the A-wings with their laser cannons as the rebels began flying their ships towards them and began to fire their laser cannons back at the TIE Interceptors before the TIE Interceptors destroyed two of them with their laser cannons as the rebels continued to pilot their ships towards them.

"Headed for the transport!" Green Leader announced as the TIE Interceptors began firing their laser cannons upon the GR-75 medium transport, causing damage to the ship.

"Deflector shields are down!" One of the rebel troopers reported to the transport's captain on the bridge of the ship as its consoles began to spark with electricity.

"They're too fast. I can't get a shot!" One of the A-wing pilots exclaimed as one of the TIE Interceptors began firing its laser cannons upon the A-wing from behind before the A-wing's alarms began to beep, "This thing's all over my scope!" The A-wing's pilot then screamed as the A-wing suddenly exploded, killing its pilot as Green Leader was chasing two of the TIE Interceptors before his A-wing was suddenly shot from behind by a TIE Interceptor as it fired its laser cannons at the rear end of his ship, killing him instantly as he screamed as well.

"Transport to Imperial fighters. Stand Down!" The transport's captain pleaded with the TIE Interceptors as he contacted them with the transport's communications system, "We are unarmed! You have no right to fire on us."

"I beg to differ," the lead pilot of the TIE Interceptors stated with a masculine voice before he and the other two TIE Interceptors began firing upon the transport with their laser cannons, destroying it and killing everyone on board the transport.

Meanwhile on Atollon, Ezra, Sabine and Zeb ran towards the holotable at Chopper Base's command center as Hera, Sato, Kanan, Mira, Ephriam and Markus stood around the holotable with Hera having her right hand over her hip and Sato having his hands over the edges of the holotable.

"Hey. We heard the supply run to Teralov failed," Ezra said as Hera lowered her right arm.

"It gets even worse," Hera told him, "We lost the entire escort of A-wings. Six pilots and the entire transport's crew."

"How many is that this month?" Ezra said with disbelief in his voice, "At this rate, there's not gonna be anyone left to fly for the Rebellion."

"Fortunately, I have been working on a solution with the help of Fulcrum," Sato told him.

"Ahsoka?" Ezra asked him with shock and surprise in his voice as he widened his eyes.

"I wish it was Ahsoka, I truly do," Mira told her son with sadness in her voice, "I think Hera should explain the rest."

"Your mother's right. Fulcrum's a code name we give to our secret informants," Hera explained as Zeb placed his hands over his hips, "It was Ahsoka's idea. There are other Fulcrum agents. She was among them."

"I have information that may help you replace your stable of pilots," the distorted voice of Fulcrum said, but unlike Ahsoka's, this one sounded more masculine as the symbol of Fulcrum appeared from the holotable's holoprojector, "There are Imperial cadets at the Skystrike Academy, who wish to defect to the rebels. I do not know their names, but they will require some assistance to escape. I suggest you move quickly, before the Empire discovers their intentions. Fulcrum out."

"This is enough to act on," Sato stated as the recording and symbol of Fulcrum disappeared as the holotable's holoprojector turned off as Sabine placed her right hand over her hip.

"The mission is yours, Sabine," Hera told Sabine as she placed her left hand over her hip, "We've arranged to insert you into a squad of new cadets headed for Skystrike. AP-5 will prepare fake credentials."

"Wait, wait. Shouldn't I be the one to go in?" Ezra asked her, "I've done this before, remember?"

"Yeah, and I was really an Imperial cadet once," Sabine recalled as she lowered her right arm, "For years, remember? And given how powerful I've grown in the Force since Kanan started training me and Ezra, the instructors there may suspect it, unlike the ones I had when I went to the Imperial Academy on Mandalore."

"The Empire knows you too well, Ezra. You'll be identified," Hera explained to Ezra as she lowered her left arm and placed her right hand back over her hip, "Sabine is the least recognizable of all of us, and very few Imperials know of her connection to the Force." I need you and Kanan to shadow her." She then lowered her right arm again, "You'll stay in communication while she's inside and be ready to help her escape. Zeb, your parents, Markus and I have to supervise the escort for the new relief mission to Teralov."

"Be careful, all of you," Mira told them with a worried smile on her face as she approached her son and daughter-in-law with Ephriam as Sabine lowered her right arm.

"She's right. Be safe out there," Ephriam said as he smiled and looked at his son and daughter-in-law, "Good luck."

"Mom, Dad, thanks," Ezra replied as he looked back at his parents.

"We'll do our best," Sabine assured her in-laws, "I promise."

"We've got our plan," Kanan told both of his Padawans as he crossed his arms and looked at them before Sabine grabbed her lightsaber from her armor's belt and handed it to him as he took it from her with his right hand as she lowered his arms, "Let's go."

A few hours later, a sentinel-class Imperial shuttle jumped out of Hyperspace and entered the Montross System, where Skystrike Academy was located as it flew into the atmosphere of Montross and flew past multiple TIE fighters that were on patrol as it flew towards the Academy and as it landed inside a hangar bay within the Academy, the shuttle's wings folded upwards as its ramp lowered.

Cadets that were wearing TIE pilot flight suits with helmets over their heads then walked down the ramp as they exited the shuttle. one of the then handed their ID card go an Imperial officer, who placed it inside a black and yellow astromech droid before it beeped in acceptance as the Imperial officer pulled it back out from the astromech droid and handed it back to the cadet and did the same to another cadet.

Sabine, who was wearing a TIE pilot's flight suit and helmet over her head like the other cadets took out the fake ID card that AP-5 had prepared for her with her right hand before the cadet in front of her walked away as she walked forward and handed the Imperial officer her ID card a she took it from her with his right hand.

The Imperial officer then inserted the ID card into the astromech droid, only for a warning sound to come from the droid instead of the usual acceptance beep before the ID card was pulled back out as it was rejected.

"There seems to be a problem with your credentials, cadet," the Imperial officer told her as he took the ID card out of the astromech droid, "Security."

"Wait! That, um… that happens from time to time," Sabine explained as two stormtroopers walked up next to the Imperial officer on both sides, "Can I see that?" The Imperial officer then handed her back her ID card as she removed her TIE pilot's helmet, revealing that she had dyed her hair back to its natural hair color, black and was wearing a black cap over her head, "Yeah, these new ID cards can be temperamental." She then blew on the ID card twice, causing one of the stormtroopers to look at her with suspicion and rubbed it on her left arm for a second before she handed it back to him, "Now try it?"

The Imperial officer then took the ID card back from her with his right hand again and inserted it back into the astromech droid with it beeping a few times before beeping that the card was accepted.

"Proceed," The Imperial officer said as he took the ID card back out of the astromech droid with his right hand and handed it back to her.

"Thank you, Sir," Sabine said as she took her ID card back from him with her right hand and walked away from him with her TIE pilot's helmet under her left arm before the cadet behind her walked up to the Imperial officer and handed him their ID card before she sighed as she took her comlink out from the helmet with her right hand.

"She's in," Ezra announced as he sat on the command chair of the Liberator with Chopper and Kanan standing behind him with the Jedi Knight having his arms crossed as the Mandalorian looked at the computer next to him, "Well, I guess all we can do now is sit and wait."

"Don't worry. She'll be fine," Kanan assured him as he looked at him and placed his left hand over the left pauldron of Ezra's armor, "She's a Force-Sensitive Mandalorian and Jedi like you after all."

"I'm just not a fan of these solo missions," Ezra explained.

"Unless it's you," Kanan retorted as he removed his left hand from the left pauldron of Ezra's armor and walked away from him.

Back at Skystrike Academy, a human male Imperial flight instructor with fair skin, brown eyes, eyebrows and hair, wearing a TIE pilot's flight suit and black cap over his head named Goran, who had his arms behind his back as he walked down a corridor within the Academy filled with Imperial cadets, wearing their TIE pilot helmets over their heads, including Sabine as they stood in front of the corridor's walls.

"Listen carefully, cadets. You are here because the Empire sees the potential in you to join the ranks of its most elite pilots," Goran told the Imperial cadets before he stopped walking and began walking back down the corridor in the opposite direction, "Most of you will fail. Whatever you achieved before means nothing. Here, only the best survive. Prepare yourselves. Your first combat training will begin at 0600. Squadron dismissed!"

"What you'd think of the new GG1?" A cadet asked another cadet with a masculine as Sabine removed her TIE pilot's helmet from her head.

"Ah, I'm looking forward to the F-40s," the other cadet answered with a feminine voice as Sabine walked into a room next to her with four bunk beds and sat down on one of the bottom bunks of the bunk beds.

"This is TIE SS-3-9 on patrol at .149, awaiting wingman," Sabine said from a TIE fighter with her TIE pilot's helmet over her head the next morning in a training simulation with an Imperial cadet.

"Copy that, 3-6. This is TIE SS-3-5," she heard a masculine voice say over her simulated TIE fighter's communications system as she saw a simulated TIE fighter fly overhead, "You can call me Wedge. What's your name, cadet?"

"I'm Ria Talla," Sabine answered, using the undercover name that Hera provided for her.

"Don't break protocol. Comm numbers only," Goran suddenly told them over the communications systems of the simulated TIE fighters that Sabine and Wedge were piloting.

"Copy that, Command," Wedge replied with the communications system of his simulated TIE fighter.

"Comscan is tracking rebel ships entering sector 2," Goran told them from the communications systems of both simulated TIE fighters, "Move to intercept."

"Acknowledged," Wedge replied, "Let's go, 3-6."

"Right behind you, 2-5," Sabine told Wedge as she went to follow him with her simulated TIE fighter.

"You have anything, 3-6?" Wedge asked her.

"Mm, nothing yet," she answered before detecting something on her simulated TIE fighter's scanner, "Wait. There they are! Four ships coming in at .847."

"Ah, I see 'em. Y-wings," Wedge said as he saw a squadron of four Y-wings jumping out of Hyperspace as they entered the system, "Heavy shields and turret guns. Command, how should we proceed?"

"Eliminate all targets," Goran answered as both simulated TIE fighters flew towards the Y-wings and began firing their laser cannons at them with the Y-wings firing their laser cannons back at them.

"They're splitting up, 3-6," Wedge told Sabine on a monitor that was being projected from a holotable where Goran and two TIE pilots, who had their helmets over their heads with one of them having their hands over their hips were watching Wedge and Sabine in their patrol training as the flight instructor had his arms crossed as an Imperial officer walked up next to him as he had his arms behind his back as he watched the training simulation as well.

"Circle around to .4," Sabine ordered Wedge from the training simulation.

"I've got these two," the female Mandalorian added before she fired her simulated TIE fighter's laser cannons upon the Y-wings, destroying one of them with Wedge destroying two of the Y-wings.

"Good kill, 3-6," Wedge complimented her.

"Oh, one more and we're even, 3-5," she told him before she fired her simulated TIE fighter's laser cannons upon the last Y-wing, destroying it instantly.

"3-5 and 2-5, proceed to the transmitted coordinates and destroy the rebel vessel located there," Goran ordered both Wedge and Sabine from outside their training simulation.

"Yes, Sir," Wedge replied as both he and Sabine piloted their simulated TIE fighters to the coordinates that Goran sent them.

"Huh, no power readings. It's disabled," Sabine observed as she saw a heavily damaged GR-75 medium transport in the distance.

"Please, do not fire! We surrender!" A masculine voice pleaded from the communications systems of both simulated TIE fighters, "We're heavily damaged and have wounded aboard! Repeat, we surrender!"

"Destroy the vessel as ordered," Goran said, repeating himself from the communications systems of both simulated TIE fighters.

"But Imperial protocol is to board the…" Sabine began to protest.

"Destroy the vessel as ordered, 3-6!" Goran said, repeating himself yet again.

"Is breaking protocol part of the test?" Sabine asked him with disbelief in her voice.

"What was that, 3-6?" Goran asked her, wondering if he heard her correctly.

Uh, comm malfunction, sir," Wedge answered for her.

"Hold on. New target coming in at .17," Goran told them as a familiar VCX-100 light freighter to Sabine appeared in the distance and began to fly towards them.

"Look out!" Sabine warned Wedge as the VCX-100 light freighter fired its laser cannons at Wedge's simulated TIE fighter and destroyed it before it did the same to hers, causing her to scream.

"Simulation complete. Cadets, exit your pods," Goran said as the simulation ended with the holographic screen of the simulation disappearing from the holotable, "Report for debriefing."

Three sets of stairs then moved towards three of the simulation pods as they rotated around before stopping as Sabine exited her simulation pood with her TIE pilot's helmet removed and under her arm and began walking down the set of stairs that were in front of her simulation pod as Wedge climbed out from his simulation pod as well and climbed down his set of stairs as well.

"What kind of rebel ship was that?" Sabine asked Goran as she approached him as Wedge had removed his helmet with it being under his arm as well, revealing that he had light skin, brown eyes and hair with a black cap over his head as he walked up next to her, "That was no transport."

"Ah, but you are wrong, cadet. It was a transport called the Ghost, which has been modified for combat. The rebels are a desperate group of extremists," another human male flight instructor with a masculine voice said as he climbed out of the third simulation pod and climbed down his steps of stairs and removed his TIE pilot's helmet, revealing that he had light skin, blue eyes and graying brown hair with a mustache and a black cap over his head and yellow markings over his flight suit's arms named Vult Skerris as he approached them, "They'll fight with any ship, using any means necessary to undermine our authority. That is why orders must be followed without question. Insubordination like yours will get you and your wingman killed. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Wedge answered.

"Understood, cadet?" Skerris said, repeating himself as he looked at Sabine.

"Yes, Sir," Sabine answered as Skerris and everyone but Wedge left the room before Sabine began to leave the room as well.

"I see you don't just take risks when you're flying," Wedge told Sabine as he stopped her from walking away as he grabbed her by her left arm with his left hand.

"Well, I trust my gut and I know right from wrong," Sabine explained as she looked at him.

"I respect that. A lot of people here won't," Wedge told her before he began walking away from her as he left the room.

A few hours later, another Sentinel-class Imperial shuttle flew through the atmosphere of Montross with two TIE fighters on both sides of the shuttle before the TIE fighters flew past the Skystrike Academy as the Imperial shuttle entered the Academy's hangar bay with its wings flipping upwards as it landed inside the Academy's hangar bay in front of a group of TIE pilots with most of them wearing their helmets over their heads, while two of them on one side had their helmets removed with Goran standing across from the Imperial shuttle as he also had his helmet removed.

As the shuttle's ramp lowered, Governor Pryce, Agent Kallus, and a human male Imperial officer with light skin, blue eyes, brown hair that had begun to gray with a mustache stood inside the Imperial shuttle's troop bay with two stormtroopers behind them. The Imperial officer was wearing a gray colored tunic with the rank plaque of an Imperial captain over the right side of his chest and an Imperial officer's cap over his head. A stylized expression of a Chimaera was painted over both sides of his tunic's shoulders, indicating that he was a member of the Seventh Fleet and was there to represent Grand Admiral Thrawn in the absence of Eli Vanto.

"Governor Pryce, Agent Kallus, Captain Pellaeon," Goran said, greeting them as they walked down the shuttle's ramp, "May I ask the reason for this unscheduled visit?"

"ISB has information that some of your cadets are planning to defect to the rebels," Kallus answered.

"You have traitors in your midst," Pryce stated.

"And Grand Admiral Thrawn takes such matters very seriously," Pellaeon added.

"Impossible," Goran said with disbelief in his voice, "My cadets are unmatched, both in their skill and loyalty."

"Nevertheless, I will be conducting a thorough investigation, and you are to extend your full cooperation," Pryce told Goran as he nodded a response before he walked away from them as she turned to the ISB agent and Imperial captain, "Agent Kallus, Captain Pellaeon, you may begin. My hope is that I may teach you both something today."

"I told you it was too risky," Sabine heard a masculine voice say from the end of the corridor that she began to walk down as she entered the corridor.

"How are we gonna get out of this?" She heard another masculine voice ask from the end of the corridor before she turned around and saw Wedge standing with two human males with black caps over their heads, one of them with light dark skin, brown eyes and black hair and the other one having fair skin, brown eyes and blond hair.

"Will you just relax? They don't know," she heard Wedge reassure his friends as she realized that Wedge was one of the cadets wanting to defect, "If they did, we'd be in the brig." Wedge and his friends then left in two separate directions as Wedge walked down the corridor on her right, while his friends walked down the corridor on her left before she began to follow Wedge.

"Something wrong, Wedge?" Sabine asked Wedge as she walked towards him on the catwalk in the hangar bay.

"Uh, no. Why?" He responded, not sure why she asked him that.

"You look nervous," she explained.

"Actually, I've been thinking about what you said in the simulator today," Wedge admitted as he sighed, "About how this wasn't what you signed up for."

"Look, I want to do my part for the Empire, but firing on unarmed ships wasn't what I had in mind," Sabine told him, "What about you?"

"I was flying cargo ships when the Empire recruited me. At the time, I figured, why not? Seemed a whole lot more exciting than hauling spare parts around the galaxy," Wedge answered, "What if this is what the Empire's becoming, I don't know."

"Hmm. You ever think about getting out?" The female Mandalorian suggested.

"That's not really possible, is it?" Wedge asked her.

"Maybe more possible than you realize," Sabine admitted as she approached him.

"What are you talking about?" Wedge asked her with confusion in his voice.

"My real name is Sabine Bridger-Wren. I was sent to get you out," Sabine explained.

"So the Rebellion did get my message," Wedge realized.

"Yes," she confirmed, "But I heard there were other pilots who want out, too."

"There are," Wedge said, confirming what Fulcrum told her and the others back on Atollon.

"Okay, we need to leave now before the Empire closes in," Sabine told him, "Can you get them ready?"

"I'll talk to them," Wedge assured her, "What's your plan?"

"Well, I'll tell you when I figure it out," Sabine answered as she began to walk backwards.

"Are you serious?" He asked her with disbelief in his voice.

"Welcome to the Rebellion," Sabine told him before going in a separate direction from Wedge as she ran across the catwalk, while Wedge did the same as he went to get his friends.

"Ezra, you need to calm down," Kanan told Ezra as he saw that the Mandalorian was pacing back and forth in the bridge of the Liberator with his arms behind his back as he was standing in the center of the CR90 corvette's bridge again.

"How can I be calm, huh?" Ezra asked him as he moved his arms away from his back and looked at him, "Sabine's stuck over there and there's nothing I can do."

"That's right. There's nothing you can do. So nothing you are doing right now is going to help," he told him, "Sit down." Ezra then sat back down on the bridge's command chair as the Jedi Knight leaned towards him, "Ezra, part of a Jedi's wisdom comes from learning to accept when a situation is out of our control. Do you trust her?"

"Of course, I trust her," Ezra answered, "I love her and she's my wife for crying out loud!"

"Good. Then trust she'll succeed," Kanan assured him.

"My investigation is nearly complete, Governor," Kallus told Pryce as he, Goran and Pellaeon approached her on the bridge of Skystrike Academy as they walked down the bridge's command walkway as she turned around from the Academy's viewport and towards them, "I have found nothing as of yet."

"Yet, it's the things we haven't found that often prove to be the most revealing," Pellaeon added with a stern expression on his face.

"Then perhaps it's time for me to take a more direct hand in this enquiry," Pryce suggested as Goran placed his arms behind his back.

"With all due respect, Governor, I am trying to train pilots here," Goran interjected as Pryce, Kallus and Pellaeon looked at him with the Lothalite governor placing her arms behind her back, "How are they to progress under these circumstances? Certainly not while they are all grounded."

"You're quite right," Pryce stated, agreeing with the flight instructor, "Perhaps getting your cadets back into space would be to our mutual advantage."

"Indeed, Governor," Pellaeon said, agreeing with her, "Practical experience often proves to be the best teacher."

"Squadron 22, report to hangar 6," Goran said from the Academy's intercom as Sabine approached Wedge, who approached her with his friends in one of the Academy's corridors as they all held their TIE pilot helmets under their arms.

"Sabine, this is Rake and Hobbie," Wedge told the female Mandalorian, introducing his friends that wanted to defect to the Rebellion to her.

"Are you all sure you're committed to this?" Sabine asked them as they began to walk down the corridor.

"We've made our choice," Hobbie answered.

"There's no turning back now," Rake added.

"Kinda surprised they're letting us go up in the middle of all this," Wedge stated as he, Hobbie, Rake and Sabine began to approach a TIE fighter that was attached to one of the catwalks hangar in hangar bay 6 as they walked across the catwalk.

"Well, we have to make the most of this chance. We might not get another," Sabine told them as she approached the TIE fighter and turned around towards them, "Okay, listen. There's a rebel ship nearby, waiting for my signal. Watch me. When I go, you go. But you have to trust me. Agreed?"

"These rebels you say are waiting for us… you trust them?" Hobbie asked her.

"With my life and besides, one of them is my husband," Sabine answered.

"Yeah, and all of ours," Rake muttered before he, Wedge and Hobbie walked towards the other TIE fighters as Sabine placed her TIE pilot's helmet back over her head and hopped down into the TIE fighter below her and sat on its pilot seat.

"Well, here goes nothing," Sabine muttered as the TIE fighter powered up and took hold of one of the TIE fighter's control sticks with her right hand and pulled out her comlink with her left hand, "Spectre-6, this is Spectre-5. If you're receiving this, lock onto my signal."

The female Mandalorian then put her comlink away as she took control of the TIE fighter's other control stick as it detached from its holder before she piloted the TIE fighter out of the hangar with multiple TIE fighters, including the ones that Wedge, Hobbie and Rake were piloting and three TIE Interceptors with one of them being piloted by Skerris doing the same as they left Skystrike Academy before they flew out of Montross' atmosphere and into space.

"Squadrons, prepare to break formation and engage in a simulated dogfight," Goran told the cadets from the Academy's bridge as Pryce, Kallus and Pellaeon walked towards him as they walked across the bridge's command walkway with the ISB agent having his arms behind his back before Pryce and Pellaeon did the same with their arms.

"Your lasers have been nullified, but your hits will still register and be scored," Goran added from the communications systems of the TIE fighters as they entered space.

"Beginning on my mark," Goran went on from the bridge of Skystrike Academy.

"Three, two, one. Mark," Goran finished from the communications systems of every TIE fighter and Interceptor before they broke formations as the TIE fighters' nullified lasers began firing at each other as Hobbie fired his nullified laser upon Wedge's TIE fighter.

"Nice shot, Hobbie," Wedge complimented him.

"Come on, Ez'ika. Where are you?" Sabine muttered to herself as the TIE fighters and Interceptors continued to fire upon each other with their nullified lasers when the Liberator suddenly jumped out of Hyperspace and began to fly towards them.

"Sir, a rebel vessel has entered the system," an Imperial officer from the crew pit below Kallus, Pryce, Pellaeon and Goran reported to the ISB agent, Imperial officer and Lothalite governor as they looked out the bridge's viewport with Kallus and Pellaeon now having their arms removed from their backs as they turned around towards the Imperial officer.

"Sabine? Hope we're not too late," Ezra said from the CR90 corvette as he used the computer next to him to contact his wife with the ship's communications system as Chopper stood behind him as he was still sitting on the ship's command chair.

"Right on time," Sabine told him with her comlink as she held it in her left hand again, "Come on, boys."

"Here we go, Hobbie, Rake, on me," Wedge said as he began to pilot his TIE fighter towards the CR90 corvette with Sabine leading them.

"Four cadets have broken off from the main group toward the rebel ship," Goran reported to Pryce, Pellaeon and Kallus and the ISb agent placed his arms behind his back again.

"We have our defectors," Pryce stated as she removed her arms from her back.

"Indeed, Governor," Pellaeon said, agreeing with the Lothalite governor, "It seems we've identified our suspects."

"Cadets, return to base immediately," Pryce ordered Sabine, Wedge, Rake and Hobbie from the communications systems of their TIE fighters, "This is your only warning."

"Negative, Command. You're gonna have to come and get us," Sabine said, dismissing the warning with her TIE fighter's communications system as she, Wedge, Rake and Hobbie continued to pilot their TIE fighters towards the Liberator.

Back inside the bridge of Skystrike Academy, Pryce suddenly clicked a button from a console in front of her with her right hand's index finger.

As soon as Pryce clicked the button, the wings of Sabine, Wedge, Rake and Hobbie's TIE fighter were suddenly torn off by themselves as they continued to fly towards the Liberator, causing them to float in space without power.

"We've lost power!" Sabine announced, "Our fighters were rigged!" The three Interceptors then began to fly towards the pods of the TIE fighters that Sabine, Wedge, Rake and Hobbie were inside of.

"Captain, destroy one of the pods," Pryce ordered Skerris, who was piloting one of the TIE Interceptors.

"A bold move, Governor," Pellaeon muttered to himself with a bit of distaste in his voice, "But let's not forget, every action has it's consequences."

"Captain Pellaeon, in these times, bold moves are what's needed," Pryce reminded him, "And as for consequences, they are a part of every decision we make."

Skerris then fired his TIE Interceptor's laser cannons upon Rake's TIE fighter pod, destroying the pod and killing Rake instantly.

"Rake!" Wedge said, crying out to Rake in horror as he watched as Skerris destroyed Rake's pod and killed him with his TIE Interceptor's laser cannons.

"Now, target the rebel transport," Pryce ordered Skerris from the bridge of the Academy.

Skerris and the two other TIE Interceptors then began flying towards the Liberator as they began firing their laser cannons at the CR90 corvette, damaging it as their lasers collided with its hull.

"Ezra! Abort! Get outta here!" Sabine ordered her husband as she saw the corvette being damaged from the TIE Interceptors.

"No, Sabine! We're coming for you," Ezra protested as the Liberator continued to fly towards the TIE fighter pods when Chopper suddenly chirped loudly.

"We can't take another hit like that," Kanan told Ezra, pleading with him to take his wife's advice and leave the System as he sat on a chair at one of the consoles with Chopper standing next to him as he looked at the Mandalorian.

"We're not leaving her behind," Ezra argued as he didn't want to leave his wife with the Empire when the TIE Interceptors suddenly fired their laser cannons upon the corvette again with them colliding with the side of the Liberator's hull.

"We don't have a choice, Ezra!" Kanan told him, "We can't help her if we're dead." He then looked at the astromech droid, "Chopper, get us into Hyperspace now!" Chopper then rolled away from the Jedi Knight when the CR90 corvette suddenly jumped back into Hyperspace.

Sabine then removed her TIE pilot's helmet from her head as she watched the Liberator jump into Hyperspace and leave the System.

A while later, Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie were inside an interrogation chamber within the Academy with their flight suits' black caps and chest boxes removed after the Empire had picked up the pods of the TIE fighters that they were operating.

The interrogation chamber looked eerily similar to the one that Kanan was placed in when the Grand Inquisitor, Kallus and Tarkin captured him on Lothal two years ago with the Grand Moff's Death troopers after he, Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, Chopper and Hera hijacked one of the Empire's communication towers on Lothal to send a message of Rebellion before they joined Phoenix Squadron.

This particular chamber was equipped with an interrogation table, much like the one on Tarkin's Star Destroyer before it was destroyed in the rescue mission for Kanan in the Mustafar System. Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie were restrained with stuncuffs over their wrists and behind their backs and had their legs folded as they were on the floor.

Kallus and three stormtroopers stood behind them as the ISB agent aimed an RK-3 blaster pistol at them, while the stormtroopers aimed their E-11 blaster rifles at them when the entrance of the interrogation chamber suddenly slid open with Pryce and Pellaeon standing in the doorway with her arms behind her back.

"I have so many questions," Pryce said before she and Pellaeon walked down the steps into the interrogation chamber, "But first, I would like to know which one of you is the rebel agent." Neither Sabine, Wedge or Hobbie said a word as the Lothalite governor approached the interrogation chair in the room, "Do you know what this is? It's most effective at extracting information from the non-compliant." She then clicked a button on a remote-like device that she was holding in her left hand with her right hand's index finger, causing the interrogation chair to tilt upwards as one of its electrocution tools started to flow with electricity before she looked at Wedge, "You."

"Governor, remember, these are still our cadets," Pellaeon told the Lothalite governor, "We should proceed with caution."

"Captain, these are not mere cadets anymore," Pryce reminded him, "They've shown their true colors. It's our duty to the Empire to act decisively."

The Lothalite governor then nodded to the stormtrooper behind Wedge before the stormtrooper hit him in the back of his head with their E-11 blaster rifle as Kallus rotated his RK-3 blaster pistol around, causing him to stand up as he was escorted towards the interrogation chair and slammed him into the interrogation table with their left hand, causing him to grunt as the electrocution tool slowly began to descend down towards his neck as it sparked with electricity again.

"No, wait! It's me. I'm the rebel," Sabine told them as she didn't want Wedge to get hurt.

"Sabine, don't!" Wedge pleaded with her before the stormtrooper removed him from the interrogation chair with their left hand.

"And now we have a name," Pryce stated as she stared at the female Mandalorian.

"Thanks," Sabine muttered, bitterly to Wedge.

"Blast it. Sorry," Wedge apologized to her.

"Agent Kallus, Captain Pellaeon, escort these two back to their cell," Pryce ordered the ISB agent and Imperial officer, "Sabine and I have a lot to talk about."

"Remember, Governor, force can compel, but rarely convinces," Pellaeon muttered as he looked at Pryce for a second before he walked out of the interrogation

"Looks like they found someone who can do your job," Sabine told Kallus as he followed Pellaeon out of the room with Wedge and Hobbie before the door slid back shut as she turned back around towards the Lothalite governor, "I won't talk."

"Well, let's see how far we can go without needing to," Pryce said as she pulled up a file of the female Mandalorian with a wanted poster of her with her hair color and style being that of when she met Ezra being projected from the holoprojector of the device that she was holding in her left hand, "Sabine Wren, is it? You are far too versed in Imperial protocol not to have been a cadet, unlike your sister, Sacha Wren." She then deactivated the device's holoprojector as she began to approach her, "And now you've come home, little Mandalorian." She then gripped Sabine's face with her left hand, "So proud. And tough, I think. We shall see." Sabine then loved her face away from Pryce's grasp.

Meanwhile inside one of the Academy's cell blocks, two stormtroopers were escorting Wedge and Hobbie back to the cell that they shared with Sabine before the Empire transferred them to the interrogation chamber with Kallus and Pellaeon as the door to the cell slid open before the stormtrooper that was escorting Wedge unlocked his stuncuffs and pushed him into the cell before the stormtrooper that was escorting Hobbie doing the same before the door slid back shut. As Kallus and Pellaeon stood in front of the cell door, the Imperial officer's face was stern, yet there was a hint of concern etched in his features, reflecting his growing unease with the situation before they walked away from the cell block.

"We have to do something," Wedge told Hobbie as he stopped him from falling to the floor with his left hand before Hobbie sat down on the cell's metallic couch behind them.

"And end up like Rake?" Hobbie said with disbelief in his voice.

"What the Empire has planned for us has gotta be worse," Wedge told him as he placed his left hand over his chin for a second before he removed it from his chin, "Sabine came here to get us out. We owe her. We have to try."

"So, what's your plan?" Hobbie asked him.

"I'll tell you when I figure it out," Wedge answered.

As the stormtroopers pushed Sabine towards the interrogation chair with their E-11 blaster pistol as she was now standing, one of them unlocked her stuncuffs as she looked at one of them with the corner of her eyes, only for her to elbow one of them with her right elbow as they fired their E-11 blaster rifles with the blaster bolt missing her and flew past Pryce and hit one of the interrogation chair's electrocution tools.

The Lothalite governor then ran towards the Mandalorian and knocked an E-11 blaster rifle that she just took from one of the stormtroopers that she just knocked unconscious out of her hands as they began to punch each other in unarmed combat before Pryce kicked her back a bit with her left knee as it collided with her stomach.

"Huh. Not bad," Sabine said, complimenting the governor on her fighting style.

"The Empire taught me well," Pryce explained before Sabine rushed towards her, pushing the Lothalite governor towards the interrogation chair and punched her in the stomach with her right fist before Pryce tried pulling her towards one of the interrogation chair's electrocution tools, only for Sabine to twist her left arm a bit with her right hand as Pryce kicked her back a bit with her left knee.

"My clan taught me better," Sabine retorted before she swiped her into the interrogation chair's electrocution tool with her right hand, causing the Lothalite to groan as she was electrocuted before she fell to the floor on her stomach as she was knocked unconscious.

Sabine's comlink then rolled onto the floor from Pryce's belt before the female Mandalorian picked it up with her left hand along with the E-11 blaster rifle that she previously took from one of the stormtroopers that she knocked unconscious back up with her right hand before she walked towards the entrance of the interrogation chamber with it sliding open as she left the room.

"Maybe we can surprise the guards," Wedge suggested to Hobbie as he now had his right arm behind his back.

"What, with our lack of planning?" Hobbie said with disbelief in his voice.

"Well, why don't you think of something!" Wedge snapped at him as he removed his right arm from his back when the cell's door suddenly slid open as they turned around and saw Sabine standing in the doorway, holding the E-11 blaster rifle in her right hand and aiming it upwards, while she had her left hand over her hip.

"I hope you are better pilots than you are soldiers," Sabine told them.

"Sabine. We were coming to rescue you," Wedge said as he ran towards her up the cell's steps with Hobbie doing the same as he stood up from the cell's metallic couch.

"That's cute. Come on. Let's go," Sabine told them before she began to fire her E-11 blaster rifle at a stormtrooper along with another one that suddenly appeared from around the corner behind them as Wedge and Hobbie ran past her.

As Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie ran from the stormtroopers and their blaster bolts, they ran through a blast door as an alarm began blaring throughout the Academy as a blast door in front of them was suddenly sealed shut with the one that they ran through sealing shut as well before Sabine aimed her E-11 blaster rifle forward as Kallus walked up to them as he walked out of a side door nearby.

"Don't shoot," Kallus said, pleading with the Mandalorian to not shoot him as he held his left hand out towards her before he lowered his left hand.

"Give me a good reason not to," Sabine requested, wanting to know why she shouldn't shoot the ISB agent.

"Avoid levels three through five," Kallus said as he opened the blast door behind him by pressing a button on the panel next to the door with his left hand's index finger, "Hangar 24 is your best possibility."

Pellaeon, who was standing within the room that the side door led to, watched the exchange with a thoughtful frown, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied Kallus. Something didn't add up as he walked away with suspicion for later consideration. A thought crossed his mind, he should discuss this with Thrawn. After all, the Chiss Grand Admiral had a knack for seeing what others missed.

"Wait. Why should we trust you?" Sabine asked him as she slowly walked around him towards the opened blast door as Wedge and Hobbie ran through the blast door.

"Tell Garazeb Orrelios… we're even," Kallus explained, causing her to lower her E-11 blaster rifle as she slowly walked towards Wedge and Hobbie, "Go." He then closed the blast door again with his left hand as they ran through the blast door before he walked away from the blast door.

As Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie entered Hangar 24, they ran across the hangar's catwalk before they stopped above a TIE bomber that was hanging from one of the catwalk's holders.

"That tub? Are you kidding?" Wedge said with disbelief as he looked down at the TIE bomber.

"Hey, it can take a hit," Sabine explained, "Now, can you fly it or not?"

"I can fly anything," Wedge answered.

"Freeze! Don't move!" A stormtrooper ordered them from a doorway on the opposite side of the one that Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie came from as he and another stormtrooper ran onto the hangar's catwalk and began to run after them and fired their E-11 blaster rifles at them before Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie hopped into the TIE bomber with Wedge sitting down on the TIE bomber's pilot seat and powered up the TIE bomber.

Skerris and four stormtroopers then entered the hangar below the catwalk from a blast door before the stormtroopers began firing their E-11 blaster rifles at the TIE bomber as it detached from its holder and flew out of the Academy.

"Young fools," Skerris muttered as he placed his TIE pilot's helmet back over his head.

"Fighter closing fast! .06!" Hobbie announced from the TIE bomber's portside pod as he checked the TIE bomber's scanner with Sabine standing next to him on his right side.

"That's gotta be Skerris," Wedge surmised as Skerris, who was piloting his TIE Interceptor began firing its laser cannons at the TIE bomber with one of the lasers hitting one section of the TIE bomber's right wing.

"Wedge, can't you go any faster?" Sabine asked Wedge as she poked her head through the doorway to the TIE bomber's cockpit for a second.

"I told you this thing was slow!" Wedge reminded the female Mandalorian as Skerris fired his TIE Interceptor's laser cannons at the bottom of the TIE bomber, "Where are those friends of yours?"

"I can't signal. Comms are jammed," Sabine told him as Skerris continued firing his TIE Interceptor's laser cannons at them, damaging the TIE bomber even more as it began to spiral downwards as she shouted, "Whoa!" Wedge then pulled the TIE bomber's control sticks towards him as he regained control of the TIE bomber when the Liberator suddenly appeared between the TIE bomber and TIE Interceptor and began to fire its laser cannons at the TIE Interceptor.

"Sabine? We knew you'd come through," Ezra's voice suddenly came through the communications system of the TIE bomber.

"Great timing, Ezra," Sabine said with relief in her voice as she was glad to hear her husband's voice.

"Get to the docking port, quick," Ezra told them from the CR90 corvette as the TIE bomber's engines started to sputter as it hovered below the docking port before it lowered down towards the TIE bomber and attached itself to the TIE bomber, causing Sabine to smile before the CR90 corvette began to leave the planet and its atmosphere as Skerris followed the Liberator in his TIE Interceptor and began to fire its laser cannons at them.

"Thought I told you to leave," Sabine reminded Ezra as she, Wedge and Hobbie entered the bridge of the Liberator after they entered the CR90 corvette through its docking port.

"We stuck around, just in case, Sab'ika," Ezra explained as he stood up and kissed her on the lips as the Liberator jumped into Hyperspace just before Skerris fired his TIE Interceptor's laser cannons upon them again before he removed his helmet from his head again.

"Commander Sato, allow me to present Lieutenants Wedge Antilles and… Hobbie, formerly of the Galactic Empire," Sabine said, introducing Wedge and Hobbie to Sato as she, Wedge, Hobbie, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper walked towards Sato after they arrived back at Chopper Base on Atollon, who walked towards them with Hera, Zeb, Mira, Ephraim, Markus and a rebel transport pilot.

"Commander, we heard you're looking for some good pilots," Sato told Sato.

"Indeed, we are," Sato confirmed before he saluted them with his right hand, "Welcome to the Rebellion." Sabine, Wedge and Hobbie then returned the salute back at him with their right hands as well.